Fabric tension control means for knitting machines



Aug. 5, 1952' H. E. HAEHNEL 2,605,626

FABRIC TENSION CONTROL MEANS FOR'KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 29, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet l 1% E W I E ll 2%: 116 21s: as

- INNTOR v 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL 2,605,626

FABRIC TENSION CONTROL MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES I Fil'ed Dec; 29, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 F1. E- ..E 5i

INVENTOR flerberili'rzl'hflaehnel Aug. 5, 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL 7 2,605,626

' FABRIC TENSION CONTROL MEANS FOR KNITTlNG MACHINES Filed Dec 29, 1949 e Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR v fiarberiflieh Hafiz/116$ Aug. 5, 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL FABRIC TENSION CONTROL MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. '29, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR FABRIC TENSION CONTROL MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 29, 1949 Aug. 5, 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I INVENTOR H. E. HAEHNEL 2,605,626

FABRIC TENSION CONTROL. MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Aug. 5, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fil ed Dec. 29, 1949 INVENTOR r m r M Patented Aug. 5, 1952 FABRIC TENSION CONTROL MEANS. FOR KNITTING MACHINES Herbert Erich Haehnel, West Reading, Pa., as-

signor to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 29, 1949, Serial No. 135,688

20 Claims.

The present invention relates to full-fashioned knitting machines provided with welt turning mechanism and more particularly to fabric tension control means acting in conjunction therewith.

It has been proposed in connection with welt turners, as in Bitzer Patent No. 2,413,601, December 31, 1946, to employ means for moving the welt wire in the draw-off direction including two motor means, one for actuating said moving means to apply its draw-off tension to the welt wire somewhat before and for a while after the loops of the first course of a stocking blank have been returned to the needles to turn or close the welt, and the other actuating said moving means to apply its draw-ofi tension to the welt wire from a time somewhat after the welt has been turned and until the blank has been finished.

According to the arrangement of said patent, the change from one motor means for the welt wire moving means to the other is accomplished by devices actuated directly by the first motor means. This arrangement, while being reliable in its operation, nevertheless, is inflexible in its time of operation due to requirements of other operating parts of the welt turning mechanism.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an operating mechanism adapted to cooperate with the welt turning means to change from one motor means for the welt wire moving means to another at any one of the several points or times in the cycle of knitting a blank as desired.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved device adapted to change from one motor means for the welt wire moving means to another which is not only adaptable to operate at a wide variety of times but also operable either just after the welt has been turned or relatively soon'after the turning or closing step has been completed.

In'the arrangement disclosed in said patent to Bitzer, the weight motormeans is activated to apply draw-off tension to the welt wire and the fabric .at a predetermined point in the welt fabric knitting cycle and continues to tension the fabric for a predetermined length after the welt is closed and only when the weight motor has completed its determined tensioning cycle may the spring'motor means become effective to tension the welt wire. However, under certain knitting conditions it is desirable to vary the time the weight motor means becomes ineffective and the spring motor means becomes effectivaorit may be desirable to use the tension of both motor means simultaneously where either motor means is insufiicient individually to obtain certain required results.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an arrangement whereby both the weight motor means ancl'the spring motor means may, when desired, act on the welt wire simultaneously to tension the fabric.

It is also an object of the present invention to act1vate or inactivate either or both weight motor means and spring motor means to control the tensioning action of the welt wire during certam portions of a fabric knitting cycle.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide means for controlling the activation or inactivation of the weight motor means and spring motor means for the'welt wire according to a predetermined pattern.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, my invention resides in the novel elements, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of portions of a full-fashioned knitting machine to which the present invention has been applied, parts being broken away and parts being omitted for purpose of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation on an enlarged scale of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, and showing certain parts omitted in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of Fig. 2 and also showing other parts not shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view of the mechanism as seen from the left of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view taken substantially along the 1ine5-5 of Fi 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 7 taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of certain of the mechanism as viewed from the left of Fig. 1;

Fig. 10 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line l0lll of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line ll-H of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional view through themachine showing certain of the loop forming and welt turning elements with which the invention is associated.

In the drawings and description, only the means necessary to a complete understanding of the invention are specifically set-forth; further information as to thebonstructionand operation of other related, usual and well known knitting machin elements, mechanisms, etc., may be found in one or more of the following publications: 7 j

1. Pamphlet entitledFull-Fashioned Knitting needles. This auxiliary draw-off means comprises aweight operated shaft 37 (weight not shown) on which is mounted draw-off reels 38, one for each of the knitting sections, and straps 49 for at- Machines-published and copyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1920.

2. Four catalogs entitled-The ReadingFull- Fashioned Knitting Machine Parts Catalog-published and copyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, in 1929, 1935,1940 and 1947, respectively. I

3. Booklet entitled-The Reading High Production Full-Fashioned Knitting Machine which, forming a supplement to the above noted 1940 Parts Catalog of the Textile Machine Works, is a publication of the Textile Machine Works, copyrighted by the latter in 1949.

4. Pamphlet entit1ed-Knitting Machine L'ecturespublished by the Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, in 19351 e In the arrangement shown in Fig. 12 of the drawing, there are included a group of knitting elements of a standard type composed of a needle bar It having a row of beard type knitting needles therein, one of which is shown at IT. A

sinkerhead l3 mounted ona'center bed 20 'contains sinkers 2| and dividers 22 for forming loops of yarn about the stems of the needles. Bridge members 25 are provided; two to each knitting section, mountedon a front bed or table'26 and extending transversely to the table and to the needle row. Members 25 serveas tracks or rails for a welt bar, 27 having a set of welt hooks 39 thereon of the type shown in apatent to Bitzer No. 2,431,160. The means for moving the welt bar toward the needle row at times of hookingup and of turning the welt comprises a-shaft 3! having levers 32 thereon, two for each knitting section. Levers 32 have links 33 pivoted to their outer ends. The fre ends of links 33 have pins 35 fixed therein, pins 35 having a portion resting on the top edges of the bridges and. a portion engaging socket members 36 which are fixed to the edge of a welt bar wherebythe pins may push the welt bar toward; the needle row. For this purpose, the shaft 3! is turned counterclock wise as viewed in Fig. 12, thereby thrusting pins 35 toward the left. counterclockwise turning movements of shaft 3l'are produced by'aotu'at- 'tachingthe reels 38 to the welt bars, each bar 21 having a loop 4| adapted to b engaged with a hook 42 on the free end of a strap 49 to transmit draw-off tension from the strap to the welt bar. After the auxiliary draw-off means has drawn off a certain amount of fabric, welt wires are placed on the fabric on each row of needles in position to be engaged by a main draw-off means'as shown in Fig. 12. The main draw-off means comprises a shaft 43 having draw-off reels 45 fixed thereon, straps 45 connected toreels 45, hooks 47 at the free ends of straps 46 for connectin'g the straps to the welt wire, and two motor means arrangedto driveshaft 43 at desired times, preferably one after the other but both motor means may be operated simultaneously as controlled by means hereinafter set forth. For this purpose-there are used a weight actuated motor means 43 and a spring motor means 50, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 1, both arranged and adapted to act to drive shaft 43 in the take-- off direction. Only those parts of spring motor meansnecessary to a complete understanding of the'present invention are shown and described herein and'a more detailed description of said spring motor means may be had by reference to Richter U. S. Patent-No.-2,004,2l9 of June 11,.' 1935, Bitzer U. S. Patent No. 2,413,601 of De" cember 31, 1946, the 1940 and 1947 parts catalogs and the supplement to the 1940 catalog, hereinbefore referred to.

According to the invention, both weight motor means 68 and spring motor means 50 are controlledv as to their times of going into action and their times of going out of action by the usual pattern means of the machine, a known form of which includes an auxiliary pattern device such as that shown at 51. in Fig. 1. Disabling means are provided, one for weight motor means 48 and one for spring motor means 53, the disabling means for'weight motor 48, however, being biased'to disabling position and rendered inactive ing mechanism .34 including a rack bar 39 having rack teeth thereon meshing with a pinion on shaft 3! and actuated by a set of three cams, not shown herein but forming a part of the mechanism in said Bitzer patents hereinbefore 'set forth. One of said cams moves the pins 35 and welt bar 2'! so that the hooks project between the needles to receive the sinker loops of the first course at the time of .hooking up. A secondone of said cams moves the welt bar to an intermediate .or so-called half-turnposition and a third cam to affect the position of the welt bar moves it to the same position as at hooking up but has a longer dwell to provide sufficient time in the cycle to ensure proper turning or closing of the welt, that is the returning of the loops of the first course to the needles. The presat desired times both by the patternmeans and by another means to be presently described, while the disabling means for the spring-motor 50 is biased to inactive position to permit the motor means 531:0 operate except when its'disabling means is rendered active by the auxiliary pattern device 5|. The weight motor means 48 will'be understood to work only a minor portion of .the cycle of knitting a stocking blank compared to spring means 59 but both operate to turn'the main reel draw-off shaft in the draw-off direction.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and '7, the weight actu ated motor means 48 comprises a sheave 52 pivoted on an axle 53 coaxialwith shaft 43 and on which is wound a cable 55 having a weight (not shown) connected thereto in the usual manner, the cable and sheave being arranged to turn the shaft 43in the desired direction due to torque exerted by the weight in a manner hereinafter set forth. The cable 55 having been wound suf- -onzapin'5lon the sheave. Pawl 56 engages with a shoulder or notch 58 on a'collar 69 fixed on shaft 43 whereby the'tension in the cable 55 applies atorque to sheave 52 and through the pawl and collar turns the shaft 43 in the draw-off direction. The pawl 56 is maintained inengage- .ment withshoulder 58 or may be held in inactive position .relative to -the shoulder by engagement of a spring pressed detent 6 with aflatsided portion 59 of :the pin 51 as shown in Fig. 8., Owing to the type of drive shown, shaft 43 can be driven 'inthe draw-off direction by .means other than sheave .52 when thesheave is prevented from moving'in the draw-off direction, pawl 56 and :notch 58 in collar 69 acting as an overdrive for permitting the shaft 43 to run ahead of weight motor 48.

There is provided a pinion 62 secured to a handle member 65 mounted to both slide and rotate-on an axle 63 carried in a fixed part of the machine. The pinion 62 is adapted to be engaged with a gear wheel 66 fixed on the shaft 43, the pinion normally being biased to inactive position relative to the gear wheel by .a spring 64 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In order to wind up the cable 55 and its attached weight, the pinion 623s engaged with gear wheel 66 and the handle 65 rotated to turn the gear wheel in a counter- .clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4. As the shaft 43 is turned, the shoulder 58 of collar 60 in engagement with the pawl 56, turns the sheave .52 to wind the cable 55 thereon.

Preferably, and as fullyshown and described in said Patent No. 2,413,601 to Bitzer, means are provided for moving the hooks 41 on the straps 46 toward the needles, at the same time that the cable 55 is woundupon the sheave 52, into position for subsequent engagement to the welt'wire after the welt wire has been placed on the fabric,

and only those parts necessary to a complete understanding of the present invention are shown herein. The means shown for this purpose comprises a shaft 61 which extends across all the knitting sectionsand has fixed thereon at each section a pair of sprocket drums or wheels one of which appears at 68 in Figs. 3 and 12. Each of said wheels has thereon abelt or band 19 extending toward the needles H and around an idler H; the band having holes therein spaced regularly along a portion of its length and adapted to engage projections '12 on the wheel whereby shaft 61 may drive the band "I0. A tension spring 13 is connected into band 19 to hold it closely against the sprocket 68 and idler H. In order to run the straps 46 toward the needle row, the bands 43, as shown in Fig. 2, in which position the have spurs 15 attached thereto adapted to engage in slots in'the hook .members 41 which are attached to the straps 46. After the hook members '41 have been engaged with spurs 15, .the shaft 61 .is .turned to move said spurstoward the needle row. I When the hooks 41 have reached the position, shown in Fig. 12, they are held in such position by .a latch pawl (not shown) which engages a notch in a member (also not shown) fixed to shaft 61. With the hooks 41 in the position of Fig. .12 and after a predetermined length of welt fabric is knitted, a welt rod 16 is pressed through spring biased members 11, in the bridge members 25, and into grooves 18 in the bridge members in position .for subsequent engagement with the .hooks.

The means whereby shaft 61 is turned comprises, in addition to the means for winding up cable 55, a means shown best in Figs. 2 and 3 "and including .a clutch member 89 fixed on shaft 43 adapted to coact with a clutch member 8| carried on shaft 43 and arranged to be moved into engagement withmember 89 so that member 3| will be driven by member 89 whenever handle 65 is operated to wind up cable 55 on sheave 52. A gear wheel 82 fixed to member 8| is embraced by jaws 83 of a shift member 84 pivoted on a fixed part of the machine so that when it is swung in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in .Fig. 2, the clutch member 89 is engaged to the clutch member 8| to drive gear 82 when pinion 62 is operated. The gear 82 (Fig. 4) meshes with and drives an idler gear 96 and the idler in turn drives a gear 81 on shaft 61 to move the bands 19, straps 46 and hooks 41 of the main draw-off for the welt wire toward the needles l1. A tension spring 88 normally holds member 84 in the position shown in Fig. 2 and at the same time holds member 8| against a collar 99 fixed on shaft clutch members 89 and 8| are disconnected and the shaft 43 is free to turn in the draw-off direction without affecting shaft 61. Normally the weight motor means 48 is held inactive by a disabling means including a pawl 9| which is pivoted on a pin 92 fixed on the frame of the machine and which is biased to engage a toothed surface 93 on sheave 52 by means including a rod 95 pivoted to pawl 9| by means of a pin 96 and a spring 91 (Fig. 6) connected to a hook on the rod and to a fixed point on the frame.-

Two means are shown for rendering the pawl 9| ineffective by drawing it away from the toothed portion 93. One of said means for drawing the pawl 9| out of its efiective position operates when the, straps 49 are being drawn toward the needle row. At this time, the sheave 52 turns counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 6 so that the teeth on surface 93 of sheave 52 tend to push the pawl 9| away and slide past the pawl. As soon, however, as a movement of shaft 6? occurs, as hereinbefore set forth, pawl 9| is drawn away from sheave 52 by a means including a high portion 98 of a collar I99 (Fig. 5) fixed on shaft 67 and a pivoted bell-crank lever |9|, one arm I92 of which rests against the collar l9!) While the other arm I93 has a boss I95 at its free end. The boss N35 has an aperture through which the rod 95 passes, the rod having a collar I06 secured thereto adapted to engage the boss I95 as hereinafter set forth. The collar I also has a low portion L91 against which the arm I92 normally rests, as shown in Fig. 5. When shaft 61 turns, as the straps 9-5 are moved toward the needles H, the low portion |9l is moved out of engagement with arm |92and the high portion 99 engages the arm which causes the boss I to engage the collar 199 and press the rod 95 downwardly against the tension of spring'9'! to draw pawl 9| out of contact with surface 93. Immediately upon disengagement of the pawl 9| from the surface 93, the tension in cable 55 is exerted on shaft 4 3 and straps 95 through driving pawl 56 and collar 99 (Fig. 6). Movement of the bands 19 and straps 45 toward the needles also winds the cable 55 on the sheave 52 and the straps are held by the spurs l5 on bands "i9 against the tension exerted by the cable as long as shaft 67 is held by its latch pawl. After-a predetermined 7 length of welt fabric is knitted the second ofthe three cams which act at times on shaft 3| comes into play and turns shaft 3| to move the welt bar 21 into its half-turn position. Simultaneously, with the movement of the welt bar 27 to the half-turn position, a cam (not shown) on shaft 35 disengages the latch and releases shaft 61. Upon release of the shaft E'i means (not shown) turns the'shaft to disengage the spurs I5 from the straps 46 and return them to starting position, this action permitting the hooks to be drawn into engagement with and apply tension to the Welt rod 76 to form a fold in the fabric as the welt bar 2'! advances to the half-turn position. As the bands 76 are returned to starting position, the shaft 6? rotates to again move the low portion I? of collar I60 into engagement with the arm I62 thereby disengaging the boss I of arm I63 from the collar I06 on the rod 65 which tends to again, permit the pawl 3| to engage the toothed surface 93. However, just prior to the actions set into'motion by the advance of the Welt bar 27 to half-turn position, the rod 95 is operated from the pattern means ill to maintain the pawl 95 disengaged from the surface 03. Therefore, when boss I05 disengages collar I06, the pawl SI remains in disengaged position and the straps 46 remain under the tension exerted by cable 55.

The means whereby the auxiliary pattern means 5i maintains pawl SI in ineffective position comprises, in addition to the usual chain member I08 (Fig. l) and sprocket wheel H0, shown in dot-and-dash outline, a bell-crank lever I I I pivoted on a shaft I I2 carried in a fixed position on the machine and having one arm I I3 the lower end of which is connected to a tension spring tending to turn lever I I I clockwise against a stop H5. Arm II3 has a projection H6 thereon adapted to contact buttons (not shown) or the like on the chain I63. The lever III has a second arm I ll having an apertured member IIB pivoted at its free end and through which the rod 95 extends. The aperture in the member III! is countersunk to receive th rounded ends of two collars I20 on rod 65, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the lever arm II! can rock with respect to the rod. Consequently, when chain I08 has been racked in the usual way until a button comes under projection I I6, lever II I is turned counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 1 and the arm II'I draws rod 95 downwardly so as to throw pawl 9i into an ineffective position relative to the toothed surface 93 or maintain the pawl in said ineffective position when moved thereto by the lever I0i as hereinbefore set forth. The first button to affect lever III is set on chain I68 so that it operates lever III just before the draw-01f torque produced by weight motor 48 on the straps 46 is thrown onto the welt rods I6 at the half-turn? operation. A sufficient number of buttons are set on chain I08 to'maintain the pawl ill in ineffective position until the spring motor means 50 is to be thrown into action. As soon as there is no button in engagement with part I I5 of arm I I3, the spring 37 on rod 35 and the spring on arm II3 cooperates to raise rod 65 and throw pawl 9| into engagement with toothed surface 63 to effectively disable weight motor 66.

Operation of the spring motor means 50 is controlled by a rod i2I which extends longitudinally along the front of the machine. For controlling spring motor means 5%), rod I2I is connected to a bell-crank lever I22 having one arm I23 depending from the pivot of the lever 8 the rounded endof which extends between collars I25 or like members fixed on rod I2I so as to transmit motion from the rod to the, lever. Lever I22 has a second arm I26 the freeend of which'is apertured to permit a rod I2! to extend vertically therethrough. The aperture in the end of arm I26 is countersunk to provide surfaces adapted to cooperate with rounded ends on collars I28 so that arrn- I26 can rock with-respect to rod I21. 'A tension spring I30 connected between a hooked end on a'rmIZB and a collar I3I fixed to rod I27 near its lower end holds the end of arm I26 resiliently but firmly in engagement with the lower collar I28, as shown in Fig. 1,- so that'rocl I 21- willrespond quickly to the movements of lever I22. A tension spring I32 biases rod I2I to the'left as viewed in Fig. 1 so that a dog I33 fixed to rod IZI near its right'hand end is'held in contact with a rounded lower endof a depending lever I35 also forming-a part of pattern means 5I and pivoted on shaft II2. Lever I35 is adapted to be turned counterclockwise as viewed iri- Fig. 1 by buttons on chain I08 similarly to lever III and is held against a stop similar to stop I I5 by spring I32 at all times when it is not in contact with a button on the chain. Whe'nlever I35 is in the position against its stop as shown in Fig. 1, its position when turned in a clockwise direction by spring I32, rod IZ'Ibeing then elevated, spring motor means 50is active because of mechanism best shown in Figsl 10 and 1 1. Said mechanism comprises a cam I36 freely pivoted on shaft 43 and, when rod I2! is elevated, cam I36 stands inth'e position showninFig'. 11 in which the spring means turns shaft 43 through an actuatingpawl I37 which is bias'ed by a spring I38 into contact withtheteeth of a ratchet wheel I40 hired on shaft .43. The pawl new is pivoted on a pin on fixed on a'lever I42 pivot ally'mounted on the shaft 43', one'end I43 of the lever being connected to a rod I45. The other end of rod I45 is connected to and actuated by means (not shown),'as set forth in the patents and publications'hereinbefore referred to, to operate the pawl I31 to turn shaft'43 and reels 45in the clockwise or take-oildirection and to turn the lever I42 counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 10, to permit the pawl to engage a different tooth on ratchet wheel I40 as the fabric is knitted. A seriesv of different length pawls I46 are provided, as shown in Figs. 1 and 10, to engage the teeth 'of ratchet wheel I40 and prevent rotation of theshaft 40. in reverseto the take-ofi direction at the time the lever I42 is moved to engage the pawl I3l. with a differ-'- ent tooth of the ratchet wheel.

The paw1s'I46'are pivotally carriedona' pin I41 fixed toa part of the machine framefas shown in Fig. 9, and are biased into engagement with the ratchet wheel I40 by, springs 14a; The pawls I46 are adapted to 'engage a portion I50 of a lever I5I also pivoted on the pin I4! for purposes hereinafter set forth. The lever I5I has a sliding connection to one endofia rod I52, the other end of whichis connected to the usual front catch bar motion shaft of themechine (not shown) by meansof which therod I52 may be actuated to turn the lever I5I in a counterclockwise direction andjthrough the pertio'n I50 disengage the pawls I46 from the ratchet" wheel I40 to relieve the tension "of shaft 43" during narrowing cyclesof the machine in the usual manner. The lever I 5| is; also pro vided with a. curved arm portion I53 which is adapted to be engaged. by fpawl I31 when it is desired to manually rotate the. pawl to inactive position, which. action: also turns the lever I5 I in. the counterclockwise. directiomas viewed in Fig. 10, to disengage the pawls. I46 fromthe ratchet wheel I40... When, however, a button on chain I08 turnsilever I 35 counterclockwise, rod I2! is lowered. and cam P36 is turned counter-. clockwise as viewed in Fig, 11, thereby moving a. high portion. I54 of the cam beneath a stem I56 of a bolt fixed to and extending laterally of pawl. I31 (Fig. 1) to disengage the pawl from the ratchetwheel I40. At the same time, a second portion I51" of" cam I36'is moved to engage a pin I58 carried on the: lever LEI to turn the lever in a counterclockwise direction to disengage the pawls I46= so thatthe-shaftw i free of the spring motor means 50- and may again be controlled by the-weightm'eans lt as hereinbelow setforth. a

The operation: of. the apparatus herein described will be obvious'to those skilled in the art. For purposes ofv convenience, however, the description of the operation of the mechanism disclosedherein-Will berecapitulated as follows: As the firstcourse of loops-is-being formed; the welt bars 27:, under tension: of the straps 60, are movedby levers-32 and'links 33 by the first ofthe welt b'a-r operating cams; hereinbefore set forth, toward the.v needles to project welt hooks 30 between theneedles-t'o receive the loops. After the loops; areengagedby thehook'stiithe levers 32- and. links33 are-returned to'the position of Fig. 12 and the loops tensioned by the straps-40. Alternate loops are then cast off and knitting of the welt proceeded with in the usual manner. Atthis:time there areno buttons on'the chain I08- inengagement with the lever- III and the lever beinginthe positionof-Pig Ltend's to engage the pawl SI with the toothed surface 93 of. the sheave 52- to maintain the sheave stationary against the tension of-the weighted cable 55. Justprior to themovement of welt hooks I l to receivethe firstcourse loops abutton on the chain I08 engages the-lever I355 toi shift the rod I2I tothe right, as viewedin'Fig. 1, and, throughlever I22 androd lzfIgturntthei cam. I36 in acounterclockwises'direction; as: viewed in Fig. 11.- This; counterclockwise movement brings: the I cam portions; I5.4.and:I5.I: beneath thestem and pin I56: and I58 respectively; to disengage the pawls' I3?! and I46from;-the1ratchetwheel:I40. During.

subsequent knitting of; the welt fabric or just.

prior to the start of 'a blank, the hooks 41- ofstraps; 46" are-attached to the=bands .10 and the bands advanced toward: the-needles to bring; the;

hooksl-Itothe position of Fig. 12 and latched as= hereinbefore.set forthi As the hooks 4-7 are advanced, the high portion 981 of cam I; on the shaft. 51,; turns the. lever III-I in the-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, toengagethegcollar. I06 on rod 95 and disengage the pawl 9Ifrom' the toothed portion. 93; The hooks and straps 4 6-.are. .thereby held in latched position under;

tensionexerted by: the; weighted cable 5.

Aftena predetermined length of fabric .is.

knittedtheswelt wireor rod-leis placed on each; fabric'in position to be engaged 'byrthe hooks- 41' of lstrapslfi. Ata predetermined pointin forma tion of the welt. the. pattern means causes the second-welt-bar. operating cam to function to turn shaft 3I and=causer-thelinks33rtoengage withandadvance the weltbar: 2 I into-the socalled; half-turn? position. 1 This occurs; when the-.welt .bar -has reached. the. approximate posi- 10 tion in which itis shown in Fig. 12 so that there is a relatively free movement of shaft .3I and pins 35 before the pins contact the socket members 35 on the welt bar and advantage is taken of this relatively free movement to cause a: cam (not shown) on the shaft 3I to release the latch holdingthe shaft 61' and for the pattern means, at substantially the same time,.to cause a cam follower to be moved to cause a cam (not shown). on the cam. shaft tov quickly turnshaft 61 and drums 68 to move'the spurs 'I5'on thebelts It out of the pathof the hooks. H on the draw-off straps 4S operatedby shaft 33 and reels 45. As the shaft 61 is turned. to move'the spurs 15' out of the path of the-hooks 4?, the low portion I07 of the .cam I00 again engages the arm I02 of lever IilI which disengagesthe arm I03 from the collar I06 on the rod 95. However, just prio'rtothe cycle of movements causing the half-turnf operation,- a button .on.1the chain I-08 is brought beneath the projectionai l5 of lever III thereby maintainingpawl .9 I: in disengaged position relativeto.the toothedsurface 93', when the arm I03 disengages thecollar I06; and the tension on the straps 36 asexertedr by thecable55. Suflicientbuttons are carr-ied by. the chain I08 to keep-theweight motor means' l'fl in action until-the spring motor means. isbrought into action as hereinafter set forth. Therefore when released, the straps 46. act on the welt wire IE to draw the wire:

against the fabricand as the welt bar 21 is moved to the half-turn positionby the pins 35, the welt wire forms afold inand..tensions the fabric. socket members 36, .on: the welt bar 21, the tension exerted by the. strapsrAU; through thewelt' set forth,.to actuate the welt bar to move it toward the needle row until the hooks 30 project between the'needles tothe, same extent as at the time-of hook-ups The dwell? of saidlast. cam, is; however, greater than that of the cam used for hooking up. While'saidthird cam holds the welt from which the loops had been cast off are brought up, through the loops held; on; the welt;

hooks 30, the 'remainingneedles. being pressed v toward the usual presser edge of the machine by. the elements I60. The remaining needles are therefore prevented from: striking the edge. of

the fabricandthe welt is turned. quickly and. without damage; gAll the-stockingblanks on the machine are,y of ,course, turned'at once. Theretensionon theziweltibar, Immediately following or assoon afterthe-welt is turnedas desired the st b t on on he na ern ha n I08 ove from .beneaththe lever I35=which acts through rod; I2J, 1ever ,I 2 Z and rod I2! to move the high a o o mm 5" a to th n sit n of Fig. li -thereby permitting'engagement;of the{ From theitime the pins 35 engage the Movement of the welt rodto tension acct-pat 'pawls I31 and I46, respectively, With the ratchet wheel I40 to turn the shaft 43 in the clockwise or take-off direction. Immediately following engagement of the pawls I31 and I46 with the ratchet wheel [49, the last button on chain IE8 is moved from beneath lever Hi whereby the spring 91 biases the rod 95 to engage the pawl with the toothed surface 93 and arrest the takeoif action of the sheave 52 on the shaft 43.

Knitting then continues with the welt bar 2! being drawn by the fabric along the bridge members until it is convenient to disengage the welt hooks from the loops of the fabric. Thereupon, the socket members 36 of the welt bar are placed in engagement with the pins on links 33 and the straps 40 reconnected to the welt bar for the start of a subsequent welt turning cycle.

While a form of mechanism within the invention has been described and its operation indicated as throwing the weight and spring motor means for the main draw-off into action at certain times, it will be understood and will be clear to those skilled in the art that the mechanism herein disclosed is adapted to permit the pattern means to disconnect and activate the weight and spring motor means in any desired sequence. Further, where additional tension on the fabric is required the buttons on the pattern chain may be arranged so as to simultaneously activate both weight and spring motor means.

The improvements specifically shown and described by which the above results are obtained can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim: a

1. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a main draw-01f shaft, a weight motor means having connections for driving said shaft when the motor means is active, a member adapted and arranged to inactivate said motor means, means biasing said member into position to inactivate said motor means, a pattern means, and connections between said pattern means and said member adapted to move it against said biasing means, said pattern means including means for operating said second mentioned connections to permit the motor to operate when desired.

2. In a full-fashioned knitting machine in combination, a welt wire, a reel, connecting means for transmitting a draw-off tension from said reel to said welt wire, a weight motor means having connections for driving said reel when the weight motor means is active, spring motor means having connections for driving said reel when the spring motor means is active, pattern means and means controlled by said pattern means for rendering said motor means active to turn said reel at desired times.

3. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means, a reel, a shaft for said reel, means for connecting said reel to the welt wire and connections from each of said motor means for driving said shaft, of a pattern means,- and means controlled by said pattern meansfor rendering said motor means active one after the other and for inactivating when desired the first of said motor means to be thrown into action.

4. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means, a reel and shaft therefor, means for connecting said reel to the welt wire, and connections from each of said motor 12 means for driving said shaft, of a pattern means, and means controlled by said pattern meansfor rendering said motor means effective simulta: neously to turn said shaft and for afterward in-: activating one of said motor means. l

5. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt wire, bothweight and spring type motor means, a reel, a shaft for said reel, means for connecting said shaft to thewelt wire, and connections from each. of said motor means for driving said shaft, of a patternmeans, said Weight motor including a circular member, a pawl adapted to cooperate with said member for holding said weight motor means inactive, and connections adapted to be operated by said pattern means for removing said pawl from engagement with said member to permit said shaft to be operated by said weight, motor means, and connections adapted to be operated by said pattern means for causing said spring type motor meansto operate to turn said shaft.

6. In full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a Welt Wire, both weight and spring type motor means, a reel shaft therefor, means for connecting said shaft to the welt wire, and connections from each of said motor means for driving said shaft, of a pattern means, said weight motor including a circular member, a pawl for holding said weight motor means inactive, means biasing said pawlinto holding engagement with said member, connections adapted to be operated by said pattern means for removing said pawl from engagement with said member to permit said shaft to be operated by said weight I motor means and connections adapted to be operated by said pattern means for causing said spring type motor means to operate said shaft. 7. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means, a reel and shaft therefor, straps connected to said reel for moving said welt wire in the draw-off direction, and connections from each of said motormeans for driving said shaft, of a member forming part of said weight, motor and coaxial with said shaft, a pawl, for engaging said member to hold said weight, motor means inactive, means biasing said pawl, into holding engagement with said member,, means whereby said straps may be run back to-- Ward the needle row into position in which they' are adapted to be engaged with said welt wire, a, lever means adapted to move said pawl out of. holding engagement with saidmember, means; whereby said lever means is operated to render said pawl inoperative to hold said weight motor means, pattern means, a connection between said pattern means and said pawl for'moving said pawl out of the path of said member to permit said weight motor means tooperate, and connections between said pattern means and said spring type motor means for rendering'it inactive and permitting it to become active.

8. A draw-off arrangement for a full-fashioned; knitting machine comprising, in .combination with a Welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means and means for connecting said motor means to the welt wire, of a weltbar having welt hooks thereon for holding loops of the first course of a fabric, means for reversingthe movement of said bar, and hooks and holding the bar stationary during the knitting of a portion of Welt'fabric whereby the hooks on the bar act as an abutment to sustainthe tension on a bight of fabric, a pattern meanameans for normally inactivating said weight motor means,

means controlled bysaid pattern meansfor act.-.. ing on said inactivating means to permit .the. weight motor means to affect the 'welt wireandto afterward permit the inactivating means to become effective, means whereby said spring. motor means may be inactivated or permitted to operate on the welt wire, and means whereby said last mentioned means-is controlled by said pattern means so that the spring motor means affects the welt wire as the weight motor means is inactivated. 1;

9. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means, a reel and a shaft therefor, straps connected to the reel for moving said welt wire in the draw-off direction, and connections from each of said motor means for driving said shaft, of a member forming part of said weight motor means and coaxial with saidshaft, a pawl for engaging said member to hold said weight motor'means inactive, means biasing said pawl into holding engagement with said member, means whereby said straps may be run back toward the needle row into position in which they are adapted to be engaged with said welt wire, a lever means adapted to move said pawl out of holding engagement with said member, means for operating said lever means when said straps are run back to render said pawl inoperative to hold said weight motor means, pattern means, a connection between said pattern means and said pawl for moving said pawl out of the path of said member to permit said weight motor means to operate, and connections between said pattern means and said spring type motor means for rendering it active.

10. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt bar, means for drawing off said welt bar in a take-off direction including means to connect the draw-off meansto the welt bar, of a pattern means, a welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means, means including said weight motor means and connections from said weight motor means to said welt wire for applying a take-off tension to said welt wire, means for reversing the movement of said welt bar and moving it against the take-01f tension to a half-way position, means whereby said spring motor means may be inactivated or per mitted to operate on the welt wire, and means whereby said last mentioned means is controlled by said pattern means so that the spring motor means affects the welt wire as soon as desired after the movement of said welt bar has been reversed.

11. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a draw-off reel and a shaft therefor, straps connected to said reel, means to drive said shaft in the draw-off direction, an inactivating member adapted to prevent said means from acting on said shaft, means to turn said reel contrary to the draw-01f direction, and a train for transmitting force from said last means to said inactivating member, said last means adapted and acting on said train to transmit force to said inactivating member to move it into a position permitting said shaftto be turned by said last means without hindrance.

12. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a draw-off reel and a shaft therefor, a motor means, a driving connection between said motor mean .and said shaft including an overdrive permitting the shaft to run ahead of said means, another motor means for driving said shaft, pattern means, and connections between said pattern means and said two motor means fortransmitting force'from the pattern.

means to determine the starting and StOPDing of the motor means.

13. Ina, full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination, adraw-off reel and a shaft therefor, a'motor means, adriving connection between said motor means and said'shaft including an overdrive permitting the shaft to run ahead of said means, an inactivating member adapted to preventsaid means from acting on said shaft, meansto turn said reel contrary to the draw-off direction, a train for transmitting force from said last means to said inactivating member, said last means adapted and acting on said train to transmit force to said inactivating member to move it into a position permitting said shaft to be turned by said last means without hindrance, another motor means for driving said shaft, and connections between said pattern means and said two motor 7 means for transmitting force from the pattern means to determine the starting and stopping of the motor means.

14. Ina full-fashioned knitting machine, in combination, draw-off reel and a shaft therefor, a motor means including a circular member, a driving connection between said motor means and said shaft including an overdrive permitting the shaft to run ahead of said motor means, means adapted and arranged to act when permitted to prevent said motor means from acting on said shaft and including a pawl biased to engage said circular member, a lever, connections between said lever and said pawl acting when the lever is moved in a certain direction to withdraw the pawl from said circular member, means to turn said reel contrary to the draw-off direc-r tion, a train for transmitting force from said last means to said lever when the reel is'being turned against the draw-off to move the pawl out of contact with said circular member, a second motor means, connections between said second motor means and said shaft for driving the shaft in the draw-off direction, a pattern means, connections between said pattern means and said lever for moving when desired said pawl against its bias away from said circular member to permit said first motor means to operate said shaft, and connections between said pattern means and said second motor means adapted and arranged to be actuated by the pattern means to hold the second motor means out of actionor to permit it to operate said shaft.

15. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a main draw-off shaft, a weight motor means having connections for driving said shaft when the motor means is active, a member adapted to inactivate said motor means, means for biasing said member toward a position in which said motor means is inactive, a pattern means, and direct connections between said pattern means and said member adapted to move it against said biasing means, said pattern means including means for operating said second mentioned connections to permit the motor to operate when desired.

16. In a full-fashioned knitting machine in combination, a welt wire, a reel, connecting means for transmitting a draw-off tension from said reel to said welt wire, a weight motor means having connections for driving said reel when the weight motor means is active, spring motor means having connections for driving said reel when the spring motor means is active, pattern means and means directly controlled by said 15 pattern means for rendering said motor means active to turn said reel'at desired times.

17. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with a welt wire, both weight and spring type motor means, a reel, a shaft for said reel, means for connecting said reel to the welt wire and connections from each of said motor means for driving said shaft, of a pattern means, and means controlled by said pattern means for rendering said motor means active one after the other and for inactivating for a material number of knitting cycles when desired the first of said motor means to be thrown into action.

18. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a draw-off reel and a shaft therefor, a motor means, a driving connection between said motor means and said shaft including an overdrive permitting the shaft to run ahead of said means, another motor means for driving said shaft, pattern means, and direct connections between said pattern means and said two motor means for transmitting force from the pattern means to determine the starting and stopping of the motor means.

19. In a full-fashioned knitting machine for making stocking blanks, the combination of a draw-off reel and a shaft therefor, a motor means, a driving connection between said motor means and said shaft, another motor means for driving said shaft, pattern ,means including a plurality of levers, a chain having projections thereon for operating said levers and springs biasing said levers toward the chain, a member for immobilizing said first motor means during a portion of the time the machine is making a blank, a connection between one of said levers and said member, a member for immobilizing said second motor means during a portion of the time the machine is making a blank, and a connection between another of said levers and 16 said second member, said connections, projections, levers and spring adapted and arranged to first throw both motor means into action and to then throw out of action oneof the motor means while the other motor means continues to act. I

20. In a full-fashioned knitting machinathe combination with a draw-off reel and a shaft therefor of a Weight motor means, a driving connection between said motor means and said shaft, a spring motor means for driving said shaft, pattern means including a plurality of levers, stop means for determining the limit of movement of said levers in one direction, springs for biasing said levers against said stop means and a chain having projections thereon for operating said levers to move them away from said stops, a pivoted member adapted to immobilize said weight motor, a linkage between one of said levers and said pivoted member, a member adapted to immobilize said spring motor and a linkage between another of said levers and said second member, said first lever and its linkage being arranged to release said weight motor from its immobilizing member when the lever is operated by a button on said chain and said other lever and its linkage being arranged to move said second member to immobilize the spring motor when the lever is operated by a button on said chain.

HERBERT ERICH HAEHNEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the is of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Bitzer Dec. 31, 1946 

